The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

Despite Egypt’s slumped economy, world renowned brands continue to sneak in amongst the hoards of shops in Cairo. With over 1000 stores in the US alone, Victoria’s Secret has just recently begun branching out internationally. After months of anticipation, the brand has finally opened up a small shop in Citystars; Victoria’s Secret products are no longer just another imported luxury.

Most famous for its lingerie and sleepwear lines, the label now encompasses all areas of women’s apparel as well as a range of beauty and personal care products. Unfortunately though, their shiny new Citystars branch focuses largely on accessories and the beauty side of things, with just a small, but varied, collection of underwear (115LE+) to choose from. Otherwise, the shelves are crammed full of perfumes and body lotions; there were so many different perfume bottles on display that trying to choose a scent was a little overwhelming.

As we entered the store via their tester display, we were promptly sprayed with their new scent, ‘Heartbreaker’ (625LE), which had a pleasantly sweet, floral aroma. A number of their fragranced body lotions caught our eye, including their popular, but heavily scented, ‘Secret Angel’ (275LE) range. Large, attractive gift boxes filled with their ‘With Love’ range of body wash, lotion, perfume and a mini perfume bottle were priced at 895LE, making the set an ideal present for a special someone.

To the back of the shop, there are also numerous bags, purses, makeup bags and other cute accessories on display. The colour scheme is largely girly and garish, with plenty of bright colours, animal prints and sequins to satisfy the wackiest of divas. Striped tote bags, which would be perfect for the beach, cost upwards of 350LE; large patterned weekend bags, meanwhile, were 795LE and rolling luggage bags were 1950LE.

Make-up bags were priced at around 475LE and  a set of five brushes complete with a pouch costs 345LE. while a little bag for makeup essentials was 225LE. Powder pink leather, sizable rectangular purses were priced at a whopping 1150LE, whilst a small phone and card wallet was a tad lower at 1025LE. Leather phone pouches complete with a VS emblem were 345LE and ipad covers were 545LE.

We also spotted a few travel accessories, including  passport covers (345LE) and charming, but expensive, travel adapters in their very own zip-up box (475LE). There were also a few models of Victoria’s Secret-brand sunglasses on sale, starting at 400LE.

Although it was thoroughly disappointing not to find a decent range of their famous underwear items, beauty queens certainly won’t be disappointed with the array of Victoria’s Secret perfumes and lotions. We found the pricing of items to be a little erratic and not very purse friendly, but in terms of spoiling ourselves once in a while, Victoria’s Secret may be the place to look.